Pressurized tire wheels, such as those for mounting wheels to an automobile and the like, customarily have a hole formed in the rim of the wheel for receiving a valve stem through which a tire mounted on the rim of the wheel is inflated. Such a wheel configuration is diagrammatically illustrated in FIG. 1, which shows a valve stem 11 projecting along a radial line 13 toward the hub 15 of the wheel 10 proper and standing inwardly or offset from the rim 17 of the wheel a sufficient distance to allow a tire inflation head 21 to engage the valve stem and apply air under pressure to the interior of a tire 23 that is mounted on the wheel rim. For customized/stylized automobiles, where hardware configuration is a significant aspect of its utility function, the rim-mounted valve stem not only diminishes the appearance of the wheel, particularly one having stylized spokes, shown at 25, but often requires the addition of unsightly counter-balancing weights 27 on opposed locations of the wheel rim. Efforts to prevent the valve stem from detracting from the aesthetic appearance of the wheel have involved locating the valve stem directly behind a spoke, as shown by dotted lines 31, so that the valve stem is not visible from the outside. Unfortunately, such positioning of the valve stem is a considerably impractical solution to the problem, as it impedes access to the valve stem, requiring the user to reach around and behind a spoke to inflate the tire.